

The ongoing issue of inflation also compounds the problem. One survey by IT service management company Okta last year found that larger companies deployed 187 apps on average, up from 77 since 2015.Ī separate study by software company WalkMe found that enterprises believe they are only realising about half of the total value of their apps, with nearly one-third of such tools being redundant or adding little value. Research has shown that all that toggling about between apps saps employees of focus, productivity and engagement. In fact, companies of all sizes, from small- and medium-size enterprises to multinational corporations, are beginning to consolidate multiple business functions so that they can reduce the quantity of apps to rectify the loss of employee productivity. Silo platforms are rapidly becoming outdated, and employees forced to continue using too many digital tools are growing increasingly burnt out after a single workday. Not to mention, HR software that helps employees to apply for paid time off and track their payslips. They will then go on to organise work files on Google Drive, Microsoft Office or Dropbox, and perhaps spend some time sharing and analysing information on digital platforms like Bullhorn, Salesforce, Telum or Meltwater. On any given day, workers might have meetings across Microsoft Teams and Zoom and text-based communication over Slack, WhatsApp and Gmail. Every moment spent jumping between platforms, searching for information, and doing repetitive tasks is a moment not spent doing meaningful work. The average worker toggles between apps 1,200 times over the course of the day, according to researchers who studied groups of employees at three Fortune 500 companies. Most businesses have already adopted a plethora of new collaboration apps, expecting to save time and make work easier for employees.īut could the abundance of work apps be counterproductive, causing employees to slow down instead? There’s a consensus among experts that smart technology platforms are critical in operating and growing a business. Toggling between multiple apps and tasks takes a toll on productivity, creativity and overall well-being, as it takes time and energy to switch between tasks, refocus our attention and get back into a state of flow.

You send it to him, and attempt yet again to get back to your report.īy now, it’s 9.30am, you’re exhausted, and you’ve barely had any time to work on the report for the meeting. Ten minutes later, yet another colleague pings you on Slack, asking for a file that you keep on your Google Drive. You send it to him, and get back to your report again. You answer, and get back to your report.įive minutes later, another colleague pings you on WhatsApp, asking for the contact of a client. A colleague pings you on Slack, asking for information. You’re finalising a report for an important meeting at 10am on Zoom.
